Motivations and Barriers to Routine HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in New York City

In-depth qualitative interviews explored the experiences and understandings of men 18–39 years old who have sex with men that could facilitate or prevent HIV testing and routine HIV testing. For many men who tested frequently, testing and routine testing were motivated by awareness of the benefit of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS and behavior 2022-11, Vol.26 (11), p.3563-3575
Main Authors: Kobrak, Paul, Remien, Robert H., Myers, Julie E., Salcuni, Paul, Edelstein, Zoe, Tsoi, Benjamin, Sandfort, Theodorus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anxiety
Diagnostic tests
Gays & lesbians
Health behavior
Health care access
Health Psychology
HIV
HIV Infections - diagnosis
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV Testing
Homosexuality, Male
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infectious Diseases
Male
Medical tests
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Men
Men who have sex with men
Mens health
Motivation
New York City - epidemiology
Original Paper
Public Health
Qualitative research
Sex
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
Stigma
Stress
Young Adult
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Summary:In-depth qualitative interviews explored the experiences and understandings of men 18–39 years old who have sex with men that could facilitate or prevent HIV testing and routine HIV testing. For many men who tested frequently, testing and routine testing were motivated by awareness of the benefit of prompt treatment; public health and provider encouragement to test periodically; responsibility towards sexual partners; and wanting to share a recent HIV-negative test result when seeking sex online. For some men, any testing was impeded by anxiety around possible HIV diagnosis that made testing a stressful occasion that required time and energy to prepare for. This anxiety was often compounded by stigma related to sex between men, having condomless sex, or having HIV. Routine testing could be further stigmatized as some men felt judged by testing providers or partners if they asked for a test or said they tested frequently. We describe efforts to promote testing and routine testing by countering fear and stigma associated with HIV and testing.
ISSN:1090-7165
1573-3254
1573-3254
DOI:10.1007/s10461-022-03679-5